The skinny: Glavine gave up 10 hits but got the win in his last outing, a six-inning, three-run effort in L.A. Against the Padres, he's 20-11 with a 3.51 ERA. Valdez blanked the Expos for eight innings on Tuesday. He's earned the win in all three of his starts. Against the Mets, he's 3-3 with 4.38 ERA.

Beyond the box score

Honoring Padres rookies: Manager Bruce Bochy said shortstop Khalil Greene and pitcher Akinori Otsuka should share National League Rookie of the Month honors for April. In 13 innings, Otsuka posted an ERA of 0.69 and went 2-1 with one save. Greene, a No 8 hitter, scored 11 runs and drove in 10. He batted .304 and was a defensive asset.

Beck's status: Removing Rod Beck from the restricted list did not affect his roster status. Beck remained on the 40-man roster, but the Padres would have to decide by May 20 to put him on their 25-man roster. "He should be ready by then," General Manager Kevin Towers said yesterday.

Ground-rule doubles: The warning track dirt at Petco Park is softer than the infield dirt, but several balls have bounced over the wall for ground-rule doubles. "It's bouncy," said right fielder Brian Giles, who jokingly added, "It's just because the dew point's so low." From the left-field foul pole to the out-of-town scoreboard, the 7-foot-6 wall is 8 inches shorter than the old wall at Qualcomm Stadium. Center fielder Jay Payton said the track "is a little hard." He joked and said, "Soften up the warning track and move the fences in."

Taxing inning: Inducing a check-swing groundout from Brian Buchanan with the bases loaded, Al Leiter escaped in the first inning, but the veteran threw 33 pitches.